Winners

The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation authored by Iowa Congressman Tom Latham aimed at helping families caught in government red tape while trying to collect the military death gratuity benefit for the minor children of soldiers killed in action. House Concurrent Resolution 175 allows minors access to death benefits previously withheld from them until they reach the age of 18 if they’re not under the care of a parent. Many soldiers are single parents who rely on grandparents or other caretakers to care for their children while they are deployed. The bill was sparked by the death of Iowa Falls soldier Jamie Jaenke who was killed by a roadside bomb last year in Iraq. She is survived by her 9-year-old daughter Kayla, who is being cared for by her grandparents, who have experienced financial hardships as a result of not having access to death benefits. This country owes the children of fallen soldiers the passage of this bill.

State Auditor David Vaudt and his staff discovered that Des Moines school officials broke a state law when they approved a construction contract for improvements to East High School that bypassed the competitive bid process. At the heart of the matter was the Des Moines School Board’s decision to split four contracts for work at East into nine purchase orders — two of which were for $115,362 and $67,387. Board president Marc Ward announced the Board has hired lawyer Nicholas Critelli to investigate the findings to help them shore up their bookwork.

The CIML continued its dominance in the Class 4-A state baseball tournament last week when the No. 1 seed Urbandale J-Hawks won their second state championship by defeating No. 2 seed Davenport Central 4-2 at Principal Park.

Losers

Regardless of whether Mark Silverman, Big Ten Network president, and Jim Delany, conference commissioner, think the BTN will change the landscape of sports television, they have a lot of nerve insisting that cable television distributors like Mediacom should place the network on their basic-tier level, when forcing subscribers who don’t want the network to pay for it. True, the inclusion of the BTN in the basic package offered by Mediacom would help smooth over relations with University of Iowa fans who lost KDSM Fox-17 last year after Mediacom and Fox couldn’t come to an agreement to keep Hawkeye football and basketball games on the network. But even if the BTN delivered 60 to 70 percent support as its proponents promise — including coverage of non-athletic events (yawn) — every paying cable customer shouldn’t be asked to ante up for something they might not want. If fans want the BTN, they should pay for it as an additional cost to their basic package just like any other niche sports television package that is available on cable and satellite television. Lastly, if the Big Ten Conference thinks its new network is a way to reach the average sports fan (what about those who don’t have cable in the first place?), guess again. Sports television subscriptions are quickly becoming a playground for the rich and squeezing the average sports fan that already pays exorbitant prices for tickets to games and is forced to stay home to watch them as a result. By the way, while the BTN is holding programming to extort more valuable advertising deals, fans should know that 49 percent of its ownership includes Fox and DirecTV, so they have a lot to gain by threatening cable companies like Mediacom. Or so they think.

Misery loves company and judging by their soap opera-like activities it appears as though three area teens — Jessica Foust, Joe Garcia and Brenda Wells — deserve each other. Foust was charged last week with attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon when police say she used her car to repeatedly hit a vehicle driven by Wells that included passenger Garcia. Court records say that Foust and Garcia had a child that died in May from sudden infant death syndrome. Wells is seven months pregnant with Garcia’s child. Court records say witnesses heard Foust yell: “I’m going to ruin your family. I hope the pregnant woman and her unborn child die.” Ah, young love.

NBA Commissioner David Stern spoke for professional basketball fans everywhere when he said he blamed former referee Tim Donaghy, a “rogue, isolated criminal,” for threatening the NBA’s credibility after an FBI investigation found that Donaghy was allegedly betting on games, including some he officiated.

First Paris Hilton gets thrown in the slammer. Next, Lindsay Lohan is arrested for investigation of misdemeanor driving under the influence and with a suspended license, and felony cocaine possession — just after her release from rehab. Then Nicole Richie pleads guilty to driving under the influence of drugs and is sentenced to 90 hours in jail and fined $2,480 by a judge who said she was lucky she didn’t kill anybody when she drove the wrong way on a freeway. Seems like these spoiled brats feel the need to one-up one another every week with a new scandal. All of which begs the question, since when did the lives of such debutants get so difficult. And why do we care? CV

Comment on this story | Return to top